Yvonne Coyle and Siobhan Wilson attended the S4 curricular evening for parents at Mearns Castle High School on Wednesday. This was to introduce the mindfulness project that is going to be carried out in the school. Mindfulness has been defined as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experiences moment by moment” (Kabat-Zinn, 2003, pg 145).The growing body of evidence suggests that mindfulness interventions can ‘improve the mental, emotional, social and physical health of young people’ by reducing stress, anxiety and improving sleep and self-esteem, bringing about increased calmness, relaxation and emotional regulation (Weare, 2012). 

Staff from Mearn Castle also displayed a sand mandala (shown in the pictures below) which is an Tibetian tradition involving the creation and destruction of a mandala made from colored sand.